the narwMIe. 
manner 5 and in all the varieties of the horn, whether 
wreathed or fmooth, bended or ftraight, it is uniformly 
ftrong, fliarp, and deeply fixed. There can be no doubt, 
but that an inftrument of this nature is intended for the 
defence of the animal on which it is bellowed. It is 
thus that the narwhal ufes it ; whenever it is urged to 
employ this terrible inftrument, it drives diredtly forward 
againft its enemy, and pierces him through. 
But notwithftanding this implement of war, and its 
amazing velocity and ftrength, the narwhal is one of the 
mod harmlefs and peaceable inhabitants of the ocean. It 
wants teeth for chewing, and a throat for fwallowing any 
bulky prey: Of confequence it commits hoftility againft 
no animal ; but is conftantly feen fporting inoffenfively 
among the great monfters of the deep, never attempting 
to injure any of them. It is called by the Greenlanders 
the forerunner of the whale ; for wherever it is feen, 
that filh feldom fails foon to appear. The manners of 
thefe two fpecies nearly refemble each other ; the food 
of both is thofe infects which we have already deferibed ; 
and both are peaceable and innocent, though qualified by 
their ftrength or their arms to fpread general deftruc- 
tion *. 
So little does this filh avail itfelf of thofe implements 
with which nature has provided it, that they appear ra- 
ther an impediment, than a means of defence. It is at 
no pains to keep them in repair for action ; but on the 
Contrary, the tooth is conftantly feen covered with weeds, 
flime, and all the filth of the fea. In one inftance they 
evidently operate to the deftruftion of the owners ; for 
the narwhals being gregarious animals, they are no 
fotmer 
* Gcldfmith’s Nat, Hi ft, 
